I generally do it correctly the first time.......... I have done quite a few heads swaps on more than just 5.0s...... but I am a technician with 2 years of schooling, at least 5 years of experience, and a car that was featured in a magazine, so, what do i know? Instead of throwing money at something or suggesting that someone else throw money at something, I diagnose the problem. You do not, you consistently give awe full uneducated advice. You said "order new ones anyway" so if the head gasket wasn't the problem, he'd have spent money on gaskets he doesn't need. Whats the sense in that. He took the proper steps and advice to diagnose this problem.
I wouldn't get on you all the time if you didn't do this all the time. You demonstrate that you know no more than ryan, but because you can drive and have some experience, the people asking question generally listen to what you have to say like you have some sort of credibility. And as long as I'm not banned, I'll be here to shoot down advice I know to be crappy.